Sure Bets for a Birthday

So it's been more than a month since my birthday, but honestly, it's taken me that long to recover. Well, maybe not, but I thanks to great friends and two awesome bars, I had one of the best nights out in the city.

With a summer birthday, I'm always tempted to go for a venue with outdoor space, so I was banking on Loreley Restaurant and Beer Garden in the Lower East Side. However, I got caught up in the week and forgot to call and make any reservations until the day of. Oops! It actually turned out for the best though because that day was one of the hottest of the whole summer. After frantically calling around, I remembered an old favorite - Common Ground in the East Village. The manager there was more than accommodating, reserving a whole couch section in the back for my group. This comfortable yet chic venue (hello?! red velvet couches!) is great for it's fully stocked wall of board games and a $2 Yuengling and $5 Cosmo and Appletini happy hour. For my birthday, the service was great, with waitresses periodically checking in on our group to make sure we were fully quenched.

Before we even settled into the comfy couches of Common Ground however, our group met up around the corner at Key Bar. This dive is not a place I'd recommend for a cozy round of drinks for two, but for birthdays, this is your place. Two words: free shots. Two more: for everyone. If your birthday is within a week before of after your visit and you can prove it with an ID, the bartender will pour a round of shots for everyone in your party. I decided on lychee shots (highly recommended!) and since my boyfriend's birthday is two days before mine, he ordered blood orange (also delicious). All of our friends were definitely thankful and thoroughly ready to celebrate birthday style.